Sunset Glow -DISCONTINUED-
by Unquixotic
Summary: Summer isn't always about only having fun and partying. Sometimes it's about taking a step back just to breathe, to find yourself and realize what you want from life. After this summer, the lives of these young people could be changed forever.
1. Don't Tell Me It's Over

Me: Hello people, I'm back.

**TK:** After about a one month hiatus, TC has finally decided to get back to work.

**Me:** Yes, I have. As you may know that I have already posted this story before.

**TK:** She rewrote it... again.

**Me:** Yeah, that's about it... except for the fact that the first chapter is kinda short, and a tad bit cliché etc.

**TK:** **DISCLAIMER- **TC does NOT own Digimon in anyway, shape, or form. And she does NOT own me (TK) and partially Paco.

**Me:** Also for those of you who are reading this story for the first time... this is an AU fanfic. I've decided to ignore the whole 25 year epilogue because I want to. If I owned Digimon (which I sadly don't), things would of been a lot different than how it did in the epilogue.

Oh, and here are the ages. Originally, TK and Kari were supposed to be fifteen so it would fit the time skip for the sequel, but I had to keep the age at 16 because of certain events in this story. And the reason why Davis is a year older than TK and Kari will be revealed in the sequel.

**Joe: **20

**Matt, Tai, Sora:** 19

**Mimi, Izzy: **18

**Davis:** 17

**TK, Kari: **16

* * *

**On with the story…**

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* * *

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**Mimi's front porch (time-11:57pm)...**

Matt knew something was about to happen; and by the look on Mimi's face, he could tell that it couldn't be good. The hurt and sorrowful look in her eyes told him that what was about to happen was going to affect them both greatly emotionally. For once in a long time, Matt was truly scared. From personal experience, Matt knew that emotional pain is one of the worst types of pain a person could feel. He knew exactly what Mimi was about to say... he just didn't want to her say it.

"Matt, I'm sorry but-" Mimi started.

"No. Don't. I know what you're about to say." Matt interrupted.

"Matt, you know that this is for the best." Mimi tried to reason.

"No. You're wrong, I know it. We can work things out. Mimi, please." Matt pleaded.

"You know that we've been through this so many times before and I'm tired of it. Things are just too complicated. I'm sorry."

"Just because things are complicated you're gonna give up just like that? Like you said, we've been through this before, so I know we can work things out." Matt pleaded once again, this time bringing her close to him.

"No," Mimi said as she pushed herself away from him, "what makes you think that things won't end up the same way? And that we won't end up back here again with the same problem?"

"I'll make sure that it won't happen again," Matt said as he pulled her close to him again, this time making sure he had a grip on her.

"Matt... just... just stop lying. You know that neither of use can make sure that we won't end up like this again."

"Then just tell me what do to. Tell me what to do to make things right."

"You actually think that just by doing that you're going to make things better?!" Mimi asked angrily.

She pushed Matt away, making sure there was an arm's length distance between them. "Matt, just face it," Mimi said as she took off the heart shaped locket Matt had given her about two years ago, "It's over."

With those words Mimi placed the locket into his hand and went back inside her house. Leaving Matt heart broken on her front porch.

**

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**Early morning (time- 3:26am)... **

Almost three and a half hours later, Matt was still standing there on Mimi's porch. After a few failed attempts of trying to bring himself to leave, Matt finally gave up. The shock and pain from the break up was still fresh in his mind, the scene replaying over and over again in his head. He was paralyzed in his spot; he couldn't move a single muscle in his body. At that moment, Matt felt like his life was over.

'_Why..._' Matt thought, "why?!" he said in a low harsh whisper as he fell to his knees.

"Matt," he heard someone say his name as he felt seemed to be jacket being draped over his shoulders, "let's go home."

Matt looked up to see younger brother looking down at him with a sympathetic look.

"TK?" Matt said in a low whisper, he couldn't bring himself to speak any louder than that.

"C'mon Matt. Get up." TK said as he helped his heart broken older brother off his recent ex-girlfriend's porch.

"I can't believe it. It's finally over."

* * *

**Me:** Wow! That was really short.

**TK:** I actually think your writing style has improved a little. I give this chapter a B+ for effort.

**Me:** Really? Thanks, I guess.

**TK:** The rewritten version of chapter 2 of TBH will be coming soon... well, maybe about a few weeks from now as soon as TC finishes it.

**Me:** All reviews, flames, criticism etc. will be accepted and appreciated. Oh, and also let me know if you like this version better or the old one.


	2. Pictures of You on My Wall

**Me: **Honestly, I have no real excuse as to why this chapter took so long.

**TK: **Writer's block, a real pain in the ass to everyone.

**Me: **Yeah, that pretty much sums everything up.

**TK: **Again, this chapter is kinda short because of the rewriting process. The third chapter will probably come... in maybe a month, more or less.

**Me: **And Paco's reappearance will be coming soon too.

**TK:** **DISCLAIMER- **TC does NOT own Digimon in anyway, shape, or form. And she does NOT own me (TK) and partially Paco.

* * *

**Ishida Residence (time-12:31p.m.)...**

"What am I going to do?" TK asked himself as he sat down on the sofa.

TK was trying to think of a plan to help Matt be... well, Matt again.

It had been about two weeks since the break up and Matt was a complete wreck. For days he had stayed in his room, almost never coming out. He wouldn't talk, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't do anything. All he would do was lie under the covers and sleep throughout the whole day. It wasn't until recently TK was able to get Matt to eat something voluntarily. **  
**

TK hated seeing his brother like this. He didn't like the fact that Matt was in so much pain and that he could do nothing about it. TK wanted to figure out a way how to make things better, but how?

It wasn't his business to mind into Matt's personal life. He really had no right to meddle to make things better... or worse. But still, Matt was his brother and he had to do something other than at least comfort him.

But what could he do?

For several minutes TK had racked his brain, trying to think of ideas, plans, anything to help Matt be himself again.

Every time a seemingly good would pop into his head, he would instantly reject it after giving it a quick thought.

Resting his head in his hands, he sighed, "This is hopeless."

TK's thoughts were interrupted when he felt something tugging on his leg. He looked down to see Patamon holding out the phone to him.

"Who is it?" he asked as he took the phone.

"Tai," Patamon replied.

"Hello?" TK spoke into the phone.

"Hey TK, it's me." Tai answered back.

"What's up?"

"Matt."

* * *

TK had sat there for almost an hour, listening intently to Tai's plan on how to get Matt back up and on his feet.

At first he thought his former leader's idea was ludicrous, thinking that Tai was being foolish and out of line. But as he heard him go into more detail, TK started to think that Tai's plan could actually work. The idea of the plan was basic and easy to follow. All they had to do now was get Matt to go along with it...

'_Damn_,' TK thought.

That was the problem. How could he get Matt to go with the plan? If there was anything that TK had learned about brother over his past sixteen years of living, it was that Matt was one of the most stubbornest people on earth. There was no way he'd be able to get Matt to go along with it.

"There's gotta be a way..." he said aloud to himself.

Sitting there for a few minutes, TK's mind had drawn a blank.

"Guess I'm gonna have to call Tai."

* * *

Matt had been in bed for almost the whole day, simply staring at the few pictures on his wall of him and Mimi. He had been contemplating on their relationship, thinking about old memories and what could have been.

In all honesty, Matt was tired of feeling like this, but there was nothing he could about it. When Mimi had broken up with him, he felt as if his life was over. She was his everything, and she suddenly decided to take it all away. The pain of the break up was still fresh on his wounded heart, he didn't know if he was ready to move on just yet.

But something had to change, he was sick of moping around and feeling hopeless.

Getting out of bed and slowly making his way to his dresser, Matt reached for a box beside it.

"Okay," he sighed, "boxes out, pictures in."

He started to take out the thumbtacks that held the pictures to the wall, carefully placing them on his dresser as he put the pictures inside the box. It wasn't long before Matt had begun to get rid of everything that reminded him of Mimi, simply putting the items into the now almost full box.

Somewhere along the way, Matt had started to straighten up his room in the process. After two weeks of doing nothing, his room was a mess and in serious need of a cleaning.

A few hours later, Matt was finally finished with everything. For some reason, he felt a little better after cleaning and discarding the remnants of Mimi from his room. The pain was still very much there, but he felt as if doing this gave him a small bit of closure.

Taking in a deep breath, Matt shakily let it out as he sat on his bed.

"Hey Matt, I'm going Ta-" TK suddenly stopped mid-sentence as he looked around his brother's room, "wow. What happened here?"

"I just... decided to do some cleaning," Matt replied simply, '_I needed to get those pictures of her off my wall._'

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**Me: **Blah! That chapter was complete crack.

**TK:** You know, you're really getting into the habit of criticizing your own stories just to get good reviews.

**Me:** (gasps) I am not!

**TK: **Admit it, you're a review whore.

**Me:** Honestly, TK, you're the only one who has called me out on it. Unless another person does, I'm going to keep on doing it. So stick that in your juice box and suck it. :P

**TK:** I know this is really out of character for me to say, but why are you being such a bitch?

**Me:** ...read and review, people. Bye.


	3. Losing Sleep

**Me:** I'm back at it again. The layout for this story has been through a lot of revising and editing.

**TK:** This means that over half of the plot has been changed, a greatly reduced amount of OCs, and no more sequel after this story ends.

**Me:** You and I both know that the first few drafts of this story were hella stupid. That was the reason why this fic has gone under a major transformation.

**TK:** The reason for no longer having a sequel is because "Now and Then" happened. Personally, I really like where she's going with it so far. I think you guys should check it out too.

**Me:** So yeah, that's about it. From now on, it's just me and TK with our occasional banter and _witty_ commentary.

**TK:** DISCLAIMER- TC does NOT own Digimon or its characters (including me) in any way, shape, or form. Nor does she own rights to the song "Losing Sleep" by IAMMEDIC.

* * *

**Losing Sleep**

Pulling into the driveway, Tai was taken aback by the sight of the two-story beach front home. The sight had proven the property to be more magnificent than from what he recalled from his childhood memories. Stepping out of his truck, he made his way inside only to be amazed once again by the house. It was beyond him how his parents had been able to afford the embodiment of luxury that was his family's beach house. At the moment, he couldn't understand why his family stopped coming here to spend their summers. Quickly dashing his trivial thoughts aside, Tai took his early arrival as an opportunity to explore the rest of the house. Hoping to familiarize himself once again with his childhood summer home, maybe even reminisce a little before his friends would arrive and invade the property.

After about twenty minutes of inspecting the house, he finally came across the master bedroom. Not bothering to really give it much of a look, Tai immediately dropped his bags and plopped himself onto the king size mattress. Reveling in the softness of the white sheets, he let himself be enveloped by the comfort of the bed. Closing his eyes, he began to think back on how he and his friends had decided who would get this room. After a long heated debate, they had finally settled on the room arrangements, purposely leaving Matt and Mimi the room that Tai was currently occupying. Begrudgingly he had sacrificed the room for his best friend, promising himself to kill Matt if he didn't manage to get back together with Mimi by the end of their stay. He hoped that the blond wouldn't screw him over by not utilizing the situation to mend his relationship with their chestnut haired friend.

Though he knew that it was a bit unfair, Tai couldn't help rushing out here a day early just to spend one night by himself. Using the beach house for the summer was his idea after all, he deserved at least one day of solitary relaxation for it, right? Leaving the comfort of the bed, he quickly changed into a pair of swim trunks before heading out to the balcony. The rays of the setting sun cast down on his body, making an outline of his frame. Tan skin stretched over lean muscles, a small bit of sweat produced from the heat trailed down his abdomen. Feeling a warm summer breeze blowing through his hair, dark brown eyes scanned the beach. Breathing in deeply, Tai picked up the salty scent of the ocean.

Yes, he thought to himself, this was going to be a good summer.

* * *

**Next morning (time – 6:42a.m.)...  
**

Half lidded eyes desperately trying to keep themselves from drooping, Matt haphazardly loaded the last of the luggage into the truck. He wondered to himself why he had agreed to go on this trip in the first place, let alone why they had to leave so early. It wasn't that long ago he was finally able to fall asleep before his alarm had gone off, giving him a rude awakening. TK and Davis had came in shortly after, forcing him out of bed to get ready to leave. It was amazed him how either of the two teens were so full of energy that early in the morning. Matt didn't have a doubt in his mind that it was due to the help of an excessive amount of Red Bull and candy. He dreaded having to spend the five hour drive alone with those two, remembering that Tai had left a day early to make sure the house was ready. He cursed the broom haired boy for abandoning him just like that.

"TK! DAVIS!" Matt yelled, not caring if he woke up his neighbors, "Hurry up so we can go!"

Impatiently sitting in the driver's seat, he waited for the two boys to exit from the apartment. He figured that the sooner they left, the sooner he would be able to go back to sleep. It was bad enough that they were forcing him to drive the first half of the way; he was in no mood to deal with any delays. It wasn't long before the younger boys came down the stairs, each with their digimon in their hands. A look of horror flashed across Matt's face when he saw the two enter the vehicle with their partners. He knew he wouldn't survive the five hours if those two monsters brought along their own monsters. His shock turning into rage, Matt was beginning to think this really wasn't his morning.

"NO!" he exclaimed, "There is no way you guys are bringing your digimon."

"Whoa! Matt, chill," TK spoke, "We're gonna drop them off at Izzy's on the way."

"Yeah!" DemiVeemon chimed, "Stop being such a Mr. Grumpypants."

Ignoring the blue creature's comment, Matt began to drive in the direction of the Izumi residence. Shortly after leaving the two digimon in Izzy's care, the three were on their way toward their second destination, the beach house. Throughout the first two and a half hours, Matt was surprised that the two teenagers had been quiet the whole time. Pulling over at a nearby gas station, he looked back to see them both fast asleep. Smiling to himself, he exited the car to fill up the tank before hitting the road again. Buying a few things from the convenience store before heading back to the car, he shook Davis awake before climbing into the passenger's seat.

"Your turn to drive," he said as he handed him a bottle of green tea, "go take a piss and then we'll go."

Nodding silently, Davis got out of the car and did what he was told. Matt leaned over and put the key into the ignition, proceeding to wait for the burgundy haired boy's return. It wasn't long until he reentered the car, beginning to blankly stare at the wheel as he sat in the driver's seat. Giving him a perplexed look, Matt asked what he was waiting for. Snapping out of his stupor, he started the car and began to pull out of the gas station.

"How far are we?" he asked.

"Half way," Matt began, "more or less."

"You think we'll get there in time to claim the good rooms?"

"I really don't care," the older boy replied, "I just want a room with a decent bed."

* * *

His head propped up against the window, Matt mindlessly watched the changing scenery. Despite his lack of rest, he couldn't seem to fall asleep. There was too much going in his head, the overwhelming thoughts were making him restless. Crystal clear flashbacks of his break up with Mimi kept resurfacing, the memories plaguing his mind. He figured that she was the reason why he was losing sleep. Maybe spending a summer at the beach house wasn't such a bad idea after all. At this point, he'd do anything just to rid himself of the image of her. Turning up the volume on his ipod, he skipped to the next song. Upon hearing the first few lyrics, Matt couldn't help realizing the irony.

_She said goodbye with her jacket and her suitcase  
She's on a train and my heart is on the railway  
A hollow chest and I'm holding on to what's left tonight_

_I'm losing sleep tonight  
I'm losing sleep tonight _

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**Me:** Yeah, I guess my writing hasn't really improved much since the last time.

**TK:** Eh, I thought it was decent. Kinda choppy, but still good.

**Me:** By the way, the next chapter for "Now and Then" will probably come out by some time next Saturday.

**TK:** Read, review, alert, and fave please... oh, and tell your friends. :D


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